You might remember that last month, we profiled the prolific writer-director-pianist-actor Hershey Felder and his production company Eighty Eight Entertainment, which develops new works of theater out of an expansive home in Point Loma.

We also sat in on rehearsals with Felder and Chris Lemmon for the latter's new solo piece "Jack Lemmon Returns," a musical and storytelling tribute to the iconic actor (and Chris' father).

Now the show has had its world premiere at the Royal George Theatre in Chicago, and that city's critics have weighed in with largely positive reviews of the piece, although they suggest there's room for an improvement (no surprise for a work going before a paying audience for the first time).

Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune calls the show (directed by Felder) a "very classy solo tribute to (Chris Lemmon's) father and a show that remains, at this juncture, very much a worthy work in progress."

Jones was particularly struck by a moment where the younger Lemmon stands below a projected image of his dad with Lee Remick from the film "Days of Wine and Roses," calling the resemblance between father and son "breathtaking." (It's also an apt juxtaposition, as the show deals with Jack Lemmon's drinking problem and its effects on Chris, and the film was itself about alcoholism.)

But Jones adds that if the show needs one thing, it's more of Chris, and his perspective on being the son of this internationally famous actor. (Chris Lemmon performs entirely as his father in "Jack Lemmon Returns.")

In the Chicago Sun-Times, Hedy Weiss describes the piece as an "honest, loving, slightly sentimental 'living memoir,'" saying that Chris Lemmon "takes his dad’s advice 'to spread a little sunshine,' though you cannot miss the sadness lurking among the shadows." She also notes that the show "supplies lively anecdotes about a few of the memorable times father and son spent together, whether fishing in Alaska or playing golf in California."

After its Chicago run, "Jack Lemmon Returns" heads to the Laguna Playhouse in Orange County, where it'll have its West Coast premiere June 11-22. (Another show from Felder, "The Pianist of Willesden Lane," follows close on its heels, running June 24-29 in Laguna. That piece also opens San Diego Rep's new season in September.)

At the moment there are no plans to bring "Jack Lemmon Returns" back to San Diego, although Felder has said that remains a possibility.